Staking

Ethereum’s staking exit queue has climbed to its longest wait of 2026 after a wave of precautionary validator withdrawals tied to MetaMask. The backlog has left hundreds of thousands of ether waiting to leave staking, while demand to enter has cooled from early September levels.

MetaMask has begun withdrawing affected Ethereum validators after a security incident diverted an estimated 0.36 ETH in block-production payments. The company said it has identified no immediate threat to MetaMask wallets, while Lido warned affected validators may miss rewards during the exit and re-entry process.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, widely known in digital asset circles as Crypto Mom, will leave the agency on Oct. 2. Her exit comes as the SEC continues to publish crypto policy guidance, including new material on token classifications, marketing expectations and staking receipt tokens.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies bought another 27,562 ETH last week, extending its accumulation drive as the company moves closer to its target of owning 5% of ether supply. Chairman Tom Lee said institutions remain underweighted crypto and could increase exposure in the final three months of 2026 after ETH’s strong third-quarter performance.

Kevin O’Leary expects Congress to return to crypto market structure legislation after the midterm elections as a separate digital asset tax bill advances. He argues that once lawmakers move to tax activities such as staking, pressure will build for clearer rules governing the sector.

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has moved against three London locations tied to illegal peer to peer cryptocurrency activity, working alongside tax authorities and the Metropolitan Police. The action comes as firms prepare for the U.K. crypto framework to take full effect on Oct. 25, 2027.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies bought 32,447 ETH last week, its largest weekly purchase since early July, as Ethereum prices rebounded sharply. The company’s holdings now stand near 5.85 million ETH, keeping it close to its stated goal of owning 5% of Ethereum’s supply.

Ethereum researchers have introduced EIP-8361, a draft proposal that would burn a rising share of newly issued validator rewards as more ETH is staked. The plan has triggered debate across developers, validators and DeFi participants because it could reshape staking economics and may not make the Hegotá upgrade timeline.

Bitmine Immersion added 10,399 ether last week, extending its weekly buying streak under an Ethereum treasury strategy launched in June 2025. Chairman Tom Lee said ether’s July outperformance against the Nasdaq 100 points to strengthening crypto fundamentals, even as Strategy reduced its bitcoin holdings.

Coinbase shares fell in after-hours trading after the crypto platform reported second-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations. Weak digital asset trading, lower transaction revenue and pressure on subscription and services revenue kept investor attention on the company’s push beyond spot trading fees.

Sharplink received 5,000 ether from FalconX, marking its first ETH inflow in eight months as the market traded lower. The treasury firm still faces a steep unrealized loss despite holding more than 876,000 ETH.

Leading U.S. crypto advocacy groups are urging the House tax committee to move forward with a bill that would clarify how mined assets and staking rewards are taxed. The push comes as industry tax policy becomes a second major lobbying front alongside market structure legislation.

The Algorand Foundation has unveiled a plan to harden its network against future quantum threats, with user-facing upgrades slated to begin in 2026. The roadmap reflects a broader industry push to prepare blockchain infrastructure for post-quantum cryptography.

Bittensor’s Root Reborn proposal aims to change how TAO stakers receive yield by shifting validators into active allocation roles across AI subnets. The code is still under review for testnet use, with fixes already made after automated checks flagged issues.

BlackRock launches the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), offering spot ETH exposure with staking rewards as institutional demand for yield in crypto funds rises.